Alzheimer Scotland Welcomes TauRx Breakthrough

Main Category: Alzheimer's / Dementia
Article Date: 31 Jul 2008 - 0:00 PDT

email to a friend   printer friendly   view / write opinions   rate article

Alzheimer Scotland welcomes the results of this Phase 2 study on a new treatment for dementia.

Jim Jackson, Chief Executive at Alzheimer Scotland, said, "The initial results of this trial are exciting: responses are extremely encouraging compared to existing treatments. Effectively targeting the protein tangles that kill brain cells would be a new breakthrough in drugs aimed at improving cognition in people with dementia. Alzheimer Scotland looks forward to the academic publication of the Phase 2 study findings in detail and to Phase 3, which will give a much wider sense of the impact on, and possible side-effects for, people with dementia."

There are 62,500 people with dementia in Scotland: that figure is set to rise to between 110,000 and 114,000 by 2031. Alzheimer Scotland's 2007 report, The Dementia Epidemic - where Scotland is now and the challenge ahead, stated that:

The cost of dementia in Scotland in 2007 was between £1.5 and £1.7 billion. Dementia has a major impact on our economy.

These figures include the cost of accommodation (41% of total), informal care (ie the costs to family of caring) (36%), social work services (15%) and NHS care (8%). The estimated average cost per annum of a person with dementia is £25,472.

The cost of dementia in 2031 is projected to rise to £2.6 - £2.9 billion (at 2007 prices).

Alzheimer Scotland